University of Alabama graduates are leaving the state, rather than finding work in Alabama, according to the Career Center’s Career Outcomes Summary.
According to the Career Center, the summary compiles information on salaries and job placements from surveys conducted throughout the year to provide to undergraduate students, and is updated after every semester.
The most recent summary from spring 2024 found that 65% of respondents planned to work outside of Alabama after graduating. This matches the summary’s compiled findings from all reports, dating back to the fall of 2018, that 62% of graduates leave the state of Alabama to join the workforce.
Garrett Reynolds, a 2024 graduate of the University, grew up in Alabama and completed both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Political Science. He said he felt there was never a push from the University to keep in-state students in Alabama after graduation.
“At times, it seemed there was more focus on keeping students at the University rather than supporting a transition to postgrad in the state,” Reynolds said. “In the political science department specifically, there was a heavy emphasis on preparing for academia and graduate studies rather than a post-graduate career path, such as campaign work or public service.”
Reynolds left Alabama after his graduation to work for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s 2024 presidential campaign in Maine. He said there were limited opportunities to find work that aligned with his beliefs in Alabama.
“In coordination with state, regional and local partners, UA supports employer efforts to encourage those students to build their careers in Alabama after graduation,” said Alex House, a UA spokesperson. She pointed to the University’s partnership with Anchor Tuscaloosa through FuelAL, which aims to encourage students to stay in Alabama or return after graduation, and the Teach in Bama program, which prepares students to pursue teaching jobs in the state. She added that the University also plans to nearly double its nursing college enrollment to address a shortage of nurses in the state.
“In short, the University is constantly working to align its talent pipeline with high-growth sectors in the state where opportunities abound while also preparing students for professional and technical roles that meet our state’s workforce needs,” House said.
The University has over 150 graduate programs for prospective and current students to enroll in. Sinclair Linkis graduated from the Capstone last year with a bachelor’s degree in health and nutrition, a field in which she says you “have to have a master’s.”
As of Jan 1, 2024, the minimum degree requirement to take the registration examination for dietitians is a master’s degree.
“I did apply to Alabama actually, but their application process was a lot more unorganized, so it led me to seek a different school that instilled some more faith in the organization of the program,” she said.
Linkis is currently enrolled in graduate school at Florida State University, pursuing a master’s in nutrition sciences. For those graduating with bachelor’s degree seeking post-graduate education, the Career Outcomes Summary numbers shift, with only 35% leaving the state and 65% staying in Alabama. The Career Outcomes Summary lists the top destinations for graduates continuing their education as Atlanta, Auburn, Birmingham, Chicago and Dallas. Tuscaloosa is ninth on the list.
“I feel like a lot of people stay at the University due to their amazing scholarship programs, and then they have amazing academics that come along with it,” Linkis said. “I feel like they could do a better job about job placements within the state, and maybe just showing that there are a lot of jobs within the state.”
Xzarria Peterson graduated last spring with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She left Alabama after graduation because she couldn’t find a job in-state, and the University doesn’t offer the concentration in public health she wanted to pursue.
The University offers a master’s in public health of health education and promotion. Peterson said she wanted to concentrate on health management and policy.
“So I moved back home, and I am a legal assistant now at a law firm,” she said.
Peterson said she has no plans to return to Alabama unless an opportunity presents itself to her.
Reynolds is coming back to Alabama to help run a campaign with the experience he learned on the presidential trail. He said he recognizes the importance of “sustained support” across the South.
“I was offered the opportunity to manage a re-election campaign for a Democratic candidate for the State House, which I’m confident I earned because of the experience I developed out of state,” Reynolds said. “The nature of campaign and government work is somewhat nomadic, so I never know where I may end up, but the South needs more support now than ever.”
Linkis also said she plans to return to Alabama once she has completed her education.
“My goal is definitely to stay in the South. And I do see myself going back,” she said. “Alabama was an amazing choice, and I love it, and I will be returning back home.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated Friday with comment from a UA spokesperson that was not originally received in time for printing purposes.
